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Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston responded to concerns about Venezuelan gangs after a video at an Aurora apartment complex circulated online.
DENVER — A video showing people carrying guns in a hallway of an Aurora apartment complex is making rounds on social media and conservative media outlets with the narrative that the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is taking over the building.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said Thursday the situation is being exaggerated.
A former tenant shared the video of people carrying guns at The Edge at Lowry on 12th Avenue and Dallas Street on Aug. 18 with 9NEWS.
Police have had this video for days and they have not said it shows members of the gang.
Coffman acknowledged that residents of two or three apartment buildings in the city are being intimidated by a Venezuelan gang, but said that Aurora Police are handling the situation and making arrests. Police said the gang’s activity is “isolated.”
Denver and Aurora’s leaders have said for weeks that Tren de Aragua is in both cities and that police are working to determine the extent of their operations.
Thursday, after 24 hours of intense national media coverage, Coffman and Johnston said the exaggerated and inaccurate news coverage is creating new risks and new problems as their cities try to deal with the gang.
“It’s overwhelming our 911 system, or our emergency call center, and so it’s actually hurting our ability to respond to crime,” Coffman said. “I would hope people would not do that. I think we’re in some sort of environment of hysteria right now over this. It’s a real issue. It’s being dealt with. It’s isolated.”
Republicans in Aurora, including City Councilwoman Danielle Jurisnky, have claimed the city isn’t telling the truth about the situation. Coffman said not every situation involving Venezuelan people, like the large gathering during Venezuela’s election, is associated with gangs.
“It wasn’t organized, and it has some detrimental effects,” Coffman said. “And they somehow conflate that with gang activity.”
Johnston said Tren de Aragua’s presence in Denver is smaller than other criminal organizations in the city.
“The threat from TDA in Denver, it’s smaller than many other organized criminal networks that might have been here for decades, the ones you know, like the Bloods or the Crips or others, and so we’re monitoring it closely,” Johnston said.
He said newcomers or Venezuelans are the most at risk of being intimidated by the gang.
“We want to make it very clear: If you have the least bit of concern, call 311, call 911,” Johnston said. “We do not ask for your citizenship or your status. You’re at no risk of adverse action.”
The mayors said Aurora and Denver need to work together to get a handle on gang activity in both cities.
“I think both sides are in for a new awakening,” Johnston said. “The folks that came here looking for the American dream will find it. Those folks who came here looking to cause chaos, I think, will find that this is their worst nightmare because we’re not going to tolerate that in the city.”
Watch the entire interview with Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston below:
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